The San Francisco Giants have slipped from 107 wins in 2021 to 81 in 2022 to 79 last season. In an attempt to arrest this pattern of decline, lead decision-maker Farhan Zaidi has positioned the Giants as one of the most active teams of the winter. To improve his club’s chances of getting back in the playoffs — likely via wild-card berth given that they share division with the Dodgers — Zaidi has signed the likes of Jung Hoo Lee, Matt Chapman, Jorge Soler, Jordan Hicks, and, just this week, Blake Snell, among others. As well, the Giants swung a trade for Robbie Ray and replaced Gabe Kapler in the dugout with new manager Bob Melvin. That’s a lot of churn and investment, and there’s mounting pressure for those moves to pay off and, yes, yield a postseason berth.
Will that happen? A deeper dive into the current state of the 2024 Giants may shed some light. Let’s undertake that right now.
Win total projection, odds
2023 record: 79-83 (fourth in NL West)
2024 SportsLine win total over/under: 82.5
World Series odds (via SportsLine): +6000
Projected lineup
Jung Hoo Lee, CF
Thairo Estrada, 2B
LaMonte Wade Jr., 1B
Jorge Soler, DH
Michael Conforto, LF
Matt Chapman, 3B
Mike Yastrzemski, RF
Patrick Bailey, C
Marco Luciano, SS
Last season, the Giants ranked 24th in MLB in runs scored and 26th in OPS. That obviously needs to improve, and the hope for the Giants is that Lee gives them a much-needed dose of OBP and contact at the top of the lineup — more on that in a moment. Meantime, Soler and Chapman should improve the Giants’ problems versus lefties and in terms of power. It’s entirely possible that veteran NRI Nick Ahmed emerges as the starting shortstop, at least to start the season.
Projected rotation
Logan Webb, RHP
Blake Snell, LHP
Kyle Harrison, LHP
Jordan Hicks, RHP
Keaton Winn, RHP
The San Fran rotation in 2023 placed 10th in MLB with an ERA of 4.12. That rotation also ranked an impressive fourth in the majors with a K/BB ratio of 3.84. Notable losses from last year include Anthony DeSclafani, Sean Manaea, Alex Wood, and Jakob Junis.
Projected bullpen
Closer: RHP Camilo Doval
Setup: RHP Tyler Rogers, LHP Taylor Rogers, RHP Luke Jackson
Middle: RHP Ryan Walker, LHP Juan Sanchez
Long: RHP Daulton Jefferies
Last year’s pen was 14th in MLB with a relief ERA of 3.92 and fourth with a relief K/BB ratio of 3.03. Like all teams, there’s been a substantial level of bullpen turnover. There’s really no call for such details, though, just as there’s no call for further discussion of the Giants’ bullpen. It will probably be fine, much like you.
Is there enough starting pitching?
Logan Webb is a certifiable ace at the front end, and the late signing of reigning Cy Young winner Blake Snell gives them a true co-ace. But what about the remainder of the Giants’ rotation for 2024? As noted, Manaea, Wood, Junis, and DeSclafani are gone, and they were all varying degrees of useful last season across a combined 44 starts. Hicks is new to the fold, and he’s got one of the biggest fastballs (sinker, actually) in the game today. However, Hicks is primarily a reliever, and the only time he tried his hand at starting the results over eight starts for the Cardinals in 2022 were hardly encouraging. It’s difficult to imagine Hicks this season will be able to handle a starter’s workload while also being effective.
Elsewhere, Robbie Ray probably won’t be available until the second half of the season as he continues his recovery from Tommy John surgery. Right-hander Tristan Beck recently underwent vascular surgery after being diagnosed with an aneurysm in his upper arm. He’s still weeks from even throwing, and he doesn’t yet have a timetable for his return. Alex Cobb is still recovering from offseason hip surgery, and Keaton Winn is well behind schedule after suffering elbow discomfort early in spring training. It should be apparent that the Giants have serious depth concerns, mostly because of all those injuries.
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Will Lee give the Giants what they need at the top of the order?
The Giants’ priciest move of the offseason was the six-year, $113 million pact they forged with Korean outfielder Jung Hoo Lee. Lee, to state the obvious, is vital to the Giants’ hopes in 2024 and beyond. He’ll man the critical position of center, and the hope is that he’ll give San Fran on-base skills as the leadoff hitter. Lee has good bat-to-ball skills and plate discipline, but the question is how his power — or lack thereof — will translate in making the leap from KBO to MLB. His maximum exit velocity makes him a peer of Andrew Benintendi and Robbie Grossman, and if you exclude his 23-homer effort in 2022, Lee averaged just seven home runs per season in his other six years in the KBO. Generally speaking, hitters do not add power when jumping from the KBO to MLB. This isn’t to say that the Giants need Lee to be a leading home run threat at the No. 1 spot, but they do need him to drive the ball enough to be a viable hitter. The guess here is that Lee will pass muster, but it’s a bit of an unknown going into 2024.
What would make for a successful season?
Before he inked an extension in late October through the 2026 season, Zaidi was presumed to be under some degree of pressure following a second-straight middling campaign and repeated failures to land a marquee free agent. So, no, Zaidi’s job very likely doesn’t hinge upon getting the Giants back to the postseason this year, but there does seem to be a level of impatience with regard to their on-field results. As such, the Giants need to be part of the 2024 playoff fray in order for this season to be a success. As noted above, there’s almost no chance that they’ll win the NL West, not with the juggernaut Dodgers around. The expanded 12-team playoff field means there’s now a third wild-card spot in each league, so that lowers the bar. Still, the Diamondbacks, Padres, Phillies, one or more NL Central teams, and possibly even the Mets figure to have realistic designs on a wild-card spot, which means it’s probably going to be a competitive jumble for those three spots. It’ll be a challenge for the Giants, but they need to make it happen.
Mayor Daniel Lurie sparked the altercation that led to a fight and injuries to two San Francisco police officers in his security detail, according to a police report of the incident obtained by the Standard.
On Thursday evening at 5:38 p.m., Lurie, an aide, and two members of his security team were driving north on Larkin St. when they spotted several people sitting on the sidewalk on the corner of Cedar St., an alley in the Tenderloin.
The mayor ordered the driver of his Rivian SUV, Officer Nicholas Boccio, to pull over. Lurie hopped out of the SUV. His second bodyguard, Officer Joel Aguayo, followed.
What happened next would result in two injured officers, a gun aimed at a man’s chest, two arrests, and renewed questions about the public safety under the mayor’s leadership.
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While footage of the incident after the officer pushed one of the men has been published by Mission Local (opens in new tab), details about what led up to the fight have not been previously revealed.
After leaving the safety of his vehicle, the mayor took matters into his own hands, the report says. Lurie attempted to get the group hanging out on Cedar St. to move, but one of the men refused.
“On whose behalf do I need to move?” asked one of the men named Tony Phillips, according to Aguayo’s statement.
According to the narrative of the combined witness statements, “Mayor Lurie addressed the group and requested that they move along, as they were standing in the roadway. Phillips became immediately argumentative, stating that he did not have to move.”
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Lurie told Phillips that Aguayo was an SFPD officer. Aguayo repeated that and requested that Phillips comply and move out of the way. Phillips again refused.
The police report said the mayor and Aguayo asked Phillips to move at least four times, at one point saying they would call uniformed officers to remove him.
Still, Phillips refused, as the mayor paced a few feet away from Aguayo, video of the incident shows.
While most of the group of four men appeared to stay put, according to footage of the incident, Phillips stepped toward Aguayo, who was standing in front of the mayor.
According to the police report, Phillips then said, “I’ll Bruce Lee kick your ass.” Aguayo then swiftly pushed Phillips to the ground. Phillips got up and was pushed again before rushing the officer. The pair grappled and then fell to the ground, and Aguayo struck the back of his head.
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During the fight, Lurie ran to the parked SUV to tell the driver, Boccio, that his partner was in trouble. When Boccio rushed to help, another man in the alley — Abraham Simon — grabbed the officer and reached for his waistband. Simon backed off after Boccio pulled his service weapon.
Boccio then helped Aguayo but was unable to restrain Phillips. It wasn’t until several uniformed officers arrived that Phillips was taken into custody.
Aguayo, who suffered cuts to the back of his head, facial bruising, and a back injury, said to investigating officers that he had to use force on Phillips because he was threatened verbally and got within inches of him. The officer also said he tried to de-escalate to no avail. Boccio’s hand was cut during the confrontation.
No body camera footage was captured of the incident because officers in the mayor’s security detail did not wear them.
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The incident, about which Lurie has made brief statements, has raised questions about whether Lurie’s freewheeling approach to walking the streets could put him into danger. The mayor told reporters last week after the incident that he asked the people to move because he was concerned for their safety and that of other pedestrians and drivers.
“I’m out here walking the streets of San Francisco like I do every day. I believe that you can’t solve what you can’t see,” Lurie said in an Instagram post Monday, seemingly doubling down on his approach to interacting with San Franciscans.
When asked for comment, the mayor’s spokesman Charles Lutvak referred to the Instagram post and a story Lurie shared in his State of the City speech about approaching a man who appeared to be an addict, who told the mayor to mind his own business.
The mayor’s reply: “You are my business.”
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Lurie’s own account of the incident was not included in the police report, although the document says he later would be contacted for a statement.
Phillips is set to be arraigned Tuesday on charges of threatening an officer, inflicting great bodily injury, and contempt of court for violating a stay-away order from the alley. District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said her office will request that Phillips remain in custody as he is a threat to the public.
Simon is also set to be arraigned Tuesday on charges of interfering with an officer.
The incident is also being investigated by the Department of Police Accountability, according to The Chronicle.
SAN FRANCISCO – A 37-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder in what authorities described as an unprovoked, broad daylight stabbing in San Francisco’s Chinatown last week.
Suspect charged
What we know:
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San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced that Jian Feng Huang was charged with attempted murder in connection with the attack at Stockton and Sacramento streets.
Huang, of San Francisco, will be arraigned Tuesday. He remains in custody.
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Jenkins described the incident as a “horrific attack of an innocent man waiting to cross the street.” She said there is no indication that the victim and the suspect knew each other.
Surveillance video captures attack
Dig deeper:
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Surveillance footage circulating online shows a man in a black hoodie walking down Stockton Street before suddenly lunging at a man who was waiting at a corner to cross the street.
The attacker stabbed the victim in the back and then walked away, according to the video. The victim is seen collapsing to the ground.
The attack occurred shortly after 1 p.m.
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Bystanders rush to help
Local perspective:
Bystanders and business owners rushed to help the wounded man.
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“We bring the ice and the towels to stop bleeding,” said Rawnie Chan, manager of Flags International Services. Chan said the victim was speaking in Cantonese and said he was in pain.
One business owner said she grabbed frozen dumplings from an office refrigerator to place on the wound because there were no restaurants nearby with ice available.
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Victim recovering
Jenkins said the victim is recovering at a local hospital. Authorities previously said the victim suffered life-threatening injuries and has undergone at least two surgeries.
The Source: This story was written based on information from San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins.
Daylight saving time is here, and San Francisco residents have ample opportunities to take advantage of the extended sunlight.
Here are some of the top events to check out this week in The City.
San Francisco Camerata concert (Monday)
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The San Francisco chamber orchestra comes to St. Mark’s Lutheran Church at 1111 O’Farrell St. for a night featuring violinist Eric Silberger and other Bay Area musicians. They will play “Serenade for Strings” by Antonin Dvorak and Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1.
An evening with Marc Teicholz and Eric Zivian (Monday)
Guitarist Marc Teicholz perform preludes by Frederic Chopin and Sergio Assad with help from guitarist Eric Zivian.
Marta Lindsey chats with Nancy Botkin (Tuesday)
Local park experts and San Francisco residents Marta Lindsey and Nancy Botkin will stop by Bookshop’s West Portal location to chat about “Discovering Golden Gate Park: A Local’s Guide.” Written by the pair, the 210-page book gives readers recommendations on how to best spend their days at the urban attraction.
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Author Marta Lindsey’s 210-page book “Discovering Golden Gate Park: A Local’s Guide” features contributions from walking and biking tour designer Nancy Botkin.
Courtesy Marta Lindsey
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Cindy Cohn chats with Cory Doctorow (Tuesday)
Electronic Frontier Foundation Executive Director Cindy Cohn talks with journalist Cory Doctorow about the former’s new book, “Privacy’s Defender: My Thirty-Year Fight Against Digital Surveillance.” Releasing Tuesday, the book documents three legal privacy battles that Cohn helped oversee throughout her career.
The sold-out conversation will take place at City Lights Booksellers, and it will also be broadcast on Zoom. It starts at 7 p.m.
Ukrainian Games Festival (Tuesday-Wednesday)
This two-day pop-up will bring cultural dishes, a charity auction and photo opportunities celebrating Ukrainian heritage to the Consulate General of Ukraine. Attendees will also be able to try demonstrations of upcoming games made by Ukrainian developers, such as the stock market simulation-game “Stonks-9800” and the point-and-click puzzle adventure game “Tukoni.”
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‘Moving San Francisco Lunchtime Talks’ (Wednesday)
Held by the San Francisco Arts Commission on the second Wednesday of every month through June, this event brings Muni historians, operators, riders, artists and other artists for conversations exploring the different themes of “Moving San Francisco: Views from the SFMTA Photo Archive 1903-Now.” On display at City Hall, the exhibition chronicles more than 120 years of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s history.
Guests will meet in the North Light Court of City Hall at noon, with this month’s edition centered on cable cars.
Free art workshop (Wednesday)
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts invites participants to explore lines, color and artworks’ compositions by painting miniature rocks. The workshop is inspired by “Double Horizon,” Sarah Sze’s public sculpture in the Yerba Buena Gardens.
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Yerba Buena Center for the Arts’ latest workship is inspired by “Double Horizon,” Sarah Sze’s public sculpture in the Yerba Buena Gardens.
Courtesy Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
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Participants can register online, and they will get to take their creations home. All materials will be provided for the session, which runs from 2 to 4 p.m.
‘Nintendo in Concert’ (Wednesday)
The Sixth Station Trio, a group of local San Francisco musicians, will perform musical scores from some of the Japanese game publisher’s famous franchises including “Animal Crossing,” “The Legend of Zelda” and “Super Smash Bros.” Held at Grace Cathedral, the pieces have been arranged for cello, piano and violin, with the performers sharing personal anecdotes about gaming in between songs.
‘Flourish: Art of Abundance’ (Thursday)
Root Division’s annual fundraiser will bring ready-to-buy artworks, panel discussions and other conversations to the arts organization’s Mission Street headquarters. An after party features music by DJ Umami, drinks by the Stud Bar and light bites from the Pawn Shop.
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“It’s so rare to have such a long-standing, unique partnership,” ballet director Tamara Rojo said. “It deserves to be celebrated”
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Mayor and Board of Supervisors president want voters to reform City Charter to centralize authority, make it harder to qualify ballot measures
The nets were installed in 2024 as a suicide prevention measure after advocacy from survivors like Kevin Hines, who is producing a new documentary about them
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‘The MIX Indie Games Gallery’ (Thursday-Friday)
SFMOMA is teaming up with the Media Indie Exchange to turn the museum’s Gina and Stuart Peterson White Box into a pop-up featuring game developers who focus on innovative gameplay and diverse representation with their content. The event is free with museum admission.
SFMOMA’s pop-up games gallery is located inside the Gina and Stuart Peterson White Box on the museum’s fourth floor.
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Courtesy Myleen Hollero
SFMOMA’s pop-up is located on the museum’s fourth floor. It is open on Thursday from noon to 8 p.m. and Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Luther S. Allison’s residency (Thursday-Sunday)
The singer-songwriter and guitarist will play a four-day residency at the Black Cat Jazz Supper Club. The North Carolina musician is known for blending blues and gospel music with the bebop and soul genres.
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Tickets are available online, ranging in price from $20 to $50. The supper club is located at 400 Eddy St., with early and late shows taking place.
‘Pearls of Sorrow’ (Friday)
Members of the San Francisco Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Chorale return to Herbst Theatre for a performance that pairs 17th- and 18th-century African American and European spiritual hymns. The program features conductor Christine Brandes and countertenor Reginald Mobley.
‘Rogue Gestures/Foreign Bodies’ (Friday)
Based in San Francisco, members of the Nava Dance Theatre will perform a piece inspired by the oral histories of Indian nurses who came to the United States as a result of the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act. The performance combines live music and experimental movement with bharatanatyam, a classical Indian dance.
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Tickets are available online, ranging from $27.45 to $40. The 90-minute show, which starts at 8 p.m., takes place at Dance Mission Theater.
‘A View from the Throne: Gina Schock — Inside The Go-Go’s’ (Saturday)
The Haight Street Art Center will examine one of rock music’s most famous all-female bands by highlighting archival materials, posters, photography and other rare ephemera from Gina Schock, the group’s drummer and a songwriter. Displayed items incude costumes, personal letters, Schock’s drum kit and band memorabilia.
The exhibition’s opening party runs from 5 to 9 p.m. The art center is located at 215 Haight St.
San Francisco Giants Fan Fest Tour (Saturday)
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Oracle Park’s doors will open to baseball fans for an afternoon of autographs, player meet-and-greets, stadium tours and photo opportunities with the team’s three World Series trophies. The team’s spring-training game taking place that day in Arizona will also be broadcast at the stadium.
San Francisco Greek Film Festival opening night (Saturday)
The 23rd edition of the showcase will come to the Delancey Street Foundation’s Embarcadero screening room for eight days of in-person events. More than 30 films will be screened, with presentations spanning documentaries, narrative features and short narrative films.
Tickets will go on sale soon, with opening night featuring “Broken Vein” by director Yannis Economides and “Nikh or the Impossible Hope of Trying” by Savvas Stavrou. Screenings start at 6 p.m., followed by a reception.
Oscars viewing party (Sunday)
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Small Car, Big Time Tours founder Reed Kirk-Rahlmann will host the Balboa Theater’s official viewing party for this year’s Academy Awards. Guests can expect prizes and trivia throughout the broadcast, with seating available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Smuin Contemporary Ballet’s annual gala (Sunday)
The 17th Street nonprofit will bring its 32nd annual gala to the San Francisco Design Center Galleria. Attendees will enjoy silent and live auctions, a seated dinner, a cocktail reception and a performance by ballet performers.
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The Smuin company in the world premiere of Jennifer Archibald’s “ByCHANCE” in October 2024.
Courtesy Chris Hardy
Tickets are available online. Guests are encouraged to dress in festive cocktail attire. The event starts at 5 p.m. takes place at 101 Henry Adams St.
